How to prevent fall/winter illness

-- Sing germs away. Teach children to wash their hands thoroughly by encouraging them to sing or hum a favorite song like "Happy Birthday" while scrubbing away germs. When the song is finished, so are they.

-- Take cover. Train kids to cover their mouths or noses when sneezing or coughing.

-- Keep your distance. Encourage children to hang coats and store other personal items away from their classmates. Head lice spread by crawling, not jumping, fro one surface to another.

-- Don't share. When it comes to spreading illnesses, it's important children know it's not good to share. Among items that shouldn't be shared are hats, brushes, coats, which can carry head lice. Children should also avoid eating and drinking after each other because it can spread strep throat and other diseases.

-- Keep it clean. Be sure to wash and dry coats, gloves and hats often during the fall and winter months to get rid of cold weather germs or bacteria or head lice living on them. Heat from a dryer can kill lice and their eggs in as few as 20 minutes.